Published: March 22, 2008 12:00 am      

Letters to the Editor: 03/21/2008

No candidate of choice

The vast right-wing conspiracy, Act 1. I believe it goes something like this: The New York Times has a story that could potentially end John McCain's presidential aspirations on Dec. 10. Rather than release it they hold it and endorse him instead. The rest of the lemmings in the print media follow suit. McCain's poll numbers rise and the fix is in. He goes on a roll and knocks off Romney, next victim Huckabee. Statistically McCain is a lock. The Republicans have the candidate they don't want.

Act 2: The old bat on 8th Avenue (the New York Times) plays its ace. Front page story reads, "John McCain caught playing patty cake with a lobbyist." Showing favoritism? Not hard to believe; after all, he was a Keating Five member. Game over but wait, enter Rush Limbaugh asking conservatives to vote for Hillary Clinton. After a dozen losses, suddenly she wins Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island. The end result is no one gets the candidate of their choice.

Maybe Hillary will send Rush a nice fruit basket. Pass the popcorn, the best is yet to come. I can't wait for Act 3.

John McDonald
Interlochen

Faux fur just fine

Trapping any animal for any reason is a sickening process. There are less barbaric methods to kill, but that would require effort, time, intelligence and patience. Words like "harvest," "discharge," "sportsman" or "restraint trap" are used to avoid calling it what it really is -- killing.

Any unfortunate animal can end up in a trap, including pets. Imagine the pain, fear, inability to move, and waiting to die. Authorities are not out in the woods personally checking traps. And how does paperwork prove time frame? It was a hiker who found the crying coyote, not the trapper. Maybe he was at home filling out the paperwork?

I feel sad this is still happening in the Traverse City area. If it has been banned in so many other countries, what is wrong with us? Could it be that legislators pander to the hunters?

Many women would not wear fur if they saw the videos of "fur farms" filmed right here in America. But the worst documentary was an undercover investigation from China. How they live is as horrifying as how they die.

Suzy Schmuckal
Traverse City